Zoomark Bologna
Published on
16/01/17
Latest news
EPO held its Annual AGM at Zoomark 2025
On May 6th, 2025 EPO held its annual General Assembly at the Zoomark edition 2025 (Bologna, Italy). While reviewing and discussing EPO workplan and activities, EPO members renewed two positions of its Board. Andreas Popper (WKO, Austria) and Frédéric Amblard (PRODAF, France) have been elected as Vice Presidents. The EPO Board is now composed of - Svein A. Fosså (NZB, Norway), President- Andreas Popper (WKO, Austria), Vice President- Frederic Amblard (PRODAF, France), Vice President- Gerrit Hofstra (DIBEVO, Netherlands), Vice President- Norbert Holthenrich (ZZF, Germany), Treasurer
19/05/25
EPO raises its concern on the handling of the EU proposal for new rules on the welfare & traceability of dogs and cats
EPO issued a statement to raise its sector concern on the handling of the EU proposal for new rules on the welfare and traceability of dogs & cats - following the adoption of its opinion by the European Parliament ENVI Committee on April 8th, 2025. EPO is now calling the members of the EP AGRI Committee, responsible on this file, to acknowledge its sector's concerns while this file is being finalised. In its statement, EPO mentions: “Whilst we would all wish to strengthen the welfare and protection of dogs and cats within the European Union and those imported from third countries, we do not consider that the key elements proposed in this Opinion serve to significantly strengthen such welfare but may actually detract from it. In particular, the proposal for evaluation of an EU-wide positive list of pet species, which only serves to detract and diminish from the regulatory objectives sought which solely pertain to dogs and cats. Any attempt to use this draft Regulation to provide the legal framework to establish an EU-wide positive list of pet species is considered to be a gross misappropriation of the draft Regulation and in itself is a key shortcoming in that we consider positive lists to be a negative solution for protecting the welfare needs of companion animals and protecting the health of animals, humans and the environment under a One Health approach. Should the Rapporteur’s Opinion be in relation to dogs and cats, then it should remain solely to dogs and cats i.e. the subject of this draft Regulation and the objective in ensuring traceability to prevent the illegal pet trafficking of dogs and cats. Rather than deviating to matters which are not within the intended scope and which would require a systematic change and likely be in breach of WTO trading rules. Recourse to a One Health approach fails to recognise that the central tenet of One Health is teamwork i.e. interdisciplinary approaches involving stakeholders who are traditionally siloed from each other to benefit animal, human and environmental health, recognising their inter-relatedness and inter-connectedness. One Health also promotes education and in this instance, the desired outcome of this draft Regulation is to ensure traceability of dogs and cats entering the Union and intra-EU movement and to prevent spontaneous purchases, especially via online trade whereby such purchases are literally ‘one click away’. The key elements expressed in this Opinion do not represent a holistic approach but achieve the exact opposite in being narrow, limited and restrictive, as well as being potentially unworkable and unenforceable. Last but not least, our sector is also concerned about the consequences of the call made in this opinion to ban the sales of dogs and cats from pet stores. While going against the proposal’s principles setting at its core traceability and the transfer of responsible pet ownership, it also directly bans a horizontal economic activity at EU level. A critical step when the proposal aims to cover the full chain of custody from breeders to pet owners, and securing traceability”. The complete statement can be read here.
16/05/25
EPO welcomes BolognaFiere Cosmoprof as associate member
On May 6th, 2025 EPO welcomes a new associate member with BolognaFiere Cosmoprof (Italy) , organiser of Zoomark. This important step further strengthens Zoomark’s institutional role and confirms its commitment to supporting responsible pet ownership and encouraging dialogue throughout the supply chain — from the international business community to pet-owning families. As a leading platform for industry professionals, with over 1,300 exhibitors and 30,000 professional visitors from all over the world expected at its 2025 edition, Zoomark becomes an even more strategic player in promoting growth, sustainability, and innovation in the pet sector. “Our membership in EPO represents a significant step forward in Zoomark’s growth and mission,” says Enrico Zannini, General Director of BolognaFiere Cosmoprof. “We are proud to support the values of responsibility, transparency, and cooperation that EPO stands for, and we’re convinced that this partnership will offer new opportunities for sharing expertise, addressing key regulatory developments, and strengthening the voice of the pet sector in Europe.”
07/05/25
EPO at the kick-off event of the MEP Group on CCBSD
On April 23rd, 2025 the MEP Group on 'Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development' (i.e. Former EP Intergroup on CCBSD) launched its five years term with its kick off event on "Competitiveness & the future of the European Green Deal".As member of its advisory board, European Pet Organization (EPO) emphasized the importance of such a platform setting as its core SCIENCE BASED EVIDENCES and a MULTI-STAKEHOLDER APPROACH when tackling the EU agenda.While EPO activities promote and safeguard the pet sector, it reminded about the importance of ensuring that both sustainability & competitiveness remain multidimensional – and synergies are created in between sustainability & competitiveness.Example has been given with the current EP handling of two files of interest for the pet sector, respectively with the EU proposal for new rules on the welfare & traceability of dogs & cats, and the EU proposal for updated rules on live animal transport.A special thanks to European Bureau for Conservation and Development and its team for organizing this event, and all speakers for the fruitful discussion.MEP Dimitrios Tsiodras MEP Nicolás González Casares MEP Elsi Katainen Clare Colleran Molloy Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea 🇪🇺 Stefano Soro Vadim Kononenko Oliver Loebel Marco Eikelenboom Melanie Muro
07/05/25